Maritime Security and Development in Africa

Africa is suffering from growing pains. Since 1994, the collective African population has grown by about 60 percent to over 1 billion people in 2014. Moreover, according to the UN, the African population will double by 2050. This development seems likely to continue and provides both opportunities and challenges for the African states and external stakeholders.

The African states are already making an effort to handle this demographic pressure, but they will have a hard time meeting the challenges alone. This analysis outlines how demographics are already affecting Danish, African, and international maritime security interests in and around Africa, how they might do so in the future, and how Denmark can contribute to handling the challenges associated with them.

The recommendations are process-oriented. Combined, they illustrate a policy window for Denmark. Succeeding the Danish counterpiracy strategy, Denmark has an opportunity to utilize its counterpiracy experiences from East Africa to establish a discussion platform for a broader agenda on maritime security and development in Africa. The security challenges will be more multiple and diverse, and it follows that the solutions should be as well. The interest of the international community in the Danish counterpiracy approach together with its prominent status among maritime nations provides Denmark with a unique set of opportunities and opens a Danish policy window.

Denmark now has the opportunity to initiate and promote the development of a new international agenda on maritime security and development in Africa to the benefit of Danish, African, and international maritime interests.